Monday, September 20, 2004
Iran: Many reports. The Meaning?
They’re Helping Sadr:
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld have raised sharp complaints in recent days that Iran is providing support for the insurgency in Iraq, expressing concerns over what they say are Iran's attempt to shape Iraq's future.
Pentagon, State Department and military officials, describing intelligence reports that are fueling those concerns, say money, weapons and even a small number of fighters are flowing over the border from Iran to assist Shiite insurgents commanded by Moktada al-Sadr, a rebel cleric. But there is no consensus on the exact scale of Iranian activities. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/politics/20iran.html?pagewanted=all
War Games show that fighting Iran is no picnic:
…spy agencies have played out "war games" to consider possible pre-emptive strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and concluded that strikes would not resolve Washington's standoff with Tehran, Newsweek magazine reported Sunday.
"The war games were unsuccessful at preventing the conflict from escalating," an unnamed Air Force source told the magazine in its latest issue.
The Central Intelligence and the Defense Intelligence Agency played out the possible results US strikes, the magazine reported. http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040919183609.4c1exyea.html
They’re moving ahead on developing a nuclear capacity
Iran on Sunday rejected a call by the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency to freeze all its uranium enrichment programs and warned that it would drop out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if its case was sent to the Security Council.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, said at a news conference that his nation would not accept any outside limitation on its uranium enrichment programs and that "no international body can force Iran to do so." http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/international/middleeast/20tehran.html?pagewanted=all
October Surprise: Iran or Iraq or?Bush may not need it, but speculation continues as to whether finding bin Laden, staging a crisis with Iran- such as setting a deadline for compliance with UN-based demands re nuclear development being October 30 or something in Iraq (though that’s beyond our control). More likely is what is being announced, both a step-up in intelligence here and (possibly) fighting there so as to assure the public that much is being done with the deteriorating situation
A U.S. official expressed alarm yesterday about a possible nuclear- weapons-related test site in Iran and accused the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency of keeping silent on its own concerns about the issue.The official's comments came as U.S. and European diplomats tentatively agreed yesterday to demand a new Iranian freeze on uranium enrichment as they fine-tuned a draft resolution meant to deprive Iran of technology that could be used to make nuclear weapons. The negotiations involved a resolution being prepared for the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. www.newsday.com
That other investigation: Niger documents: Nothing Doin’
Forgot that one? It’s been a while. Josh Marshall warns us to expect zip, as there is no investigation.
The truth, though, the dirty little secret, is that there’s never been any real investigation into where those documents came from. Don't look for status updates on it because it doesn't exist.
Yes, back in March 2003, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), vice-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence asked the FBI to investigate the matter. And it was on the basis of this supposed investigation that the Committee decided not to investigate anything about the forged documents before they showed up at the US Embassy in Rome in October 2002. (See page 57 of the Committee report.) But again, despite claims to the contrary, the FBI hasn’t made any serious effort to find out who was behind the scam. www.talkingpointsmemor.org
CNN: al-Qaeda Seeks Bush Defeat
A pattern. CNN -Bill Schneider this time- repeats the Bush line. They are approaching Fox status.
Well I can guarantee that they don't like George Bush. Do they think there's a difference? I think Osama bin laden - the al qaeda network - who I'm certain follow american politics. Look at the messages coming out on their tapes, they seem to follow politics very closely. They would very much like to defeat President Bush. But the question is could they pull of the same trick they could pull off in Spain? What Dennis Hastert says is they'd better not try that, it won't work here. My guess is he's right about that." http://atrios.blogspot.com/
Sounds a lot like the Administration or its supporters: (AP)
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage alleged Friday that insurgents have stepped up their deadly assaults in Iraq because they want to "influence the election against President Bush," a statement that drew a sharp condemnation from the campaign of Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry.It is apparently the first time that a Bush administration official has linked the escalating violence in Iraq to an effort by insurgents to help defeat Bush in November.
What’s Happening, Iraq:Brits Cutting Back:
The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next month despite the deteriorating security situation in much of the country, The Observer has learnt. The main British combat force in Iraq, about 5,000-strong, will be reduced by around a third by the end of October during a routine rotation of units. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1307980,00.html
What’s Happening, Pakistan: Fighting
In the hidden ravines and forbidding, dust-colored mountains of a remote border region near Afghanistan, about 25,000 Pakistani troops are battling hundreds of well-armed foreign militants and Pakistani tribesmen in an increasingly violent confrontation that is imposing growing costs on civilians and prompting warnings of wider unrest. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34160-2004Sep19.html
Vanishing Middle Class. More confirmation. No, not the upper middle class…yet…
The jobs have had one thing in common: For people with a high school diploma and perhaps a bit of college, they can be a ticket to a modest home, health insurance, decent retirement and maybe some savings for the kids' tuition. Such jobs were a big reason America's middle class flourished in the second half of the 20th century.
Now what those jobs share is vulnerability. The people who fill them have become replaceable by machines, workers overseas or temporary employees at home who lack benefits. And when they are replaced, many don't know where to turn. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34235-2004Sep19.html
Bush, post November 2: If he wins…
Troops
``He won't tell us what congressional leaders are now saying, that this administration is planning yet another substantial call-up of reservists and Guard units immediately after the election,'' Kerry said. ``Hide it from people through the election, then make the move.'' Republicans said Kerry was making a baseless charge to cover up his inconsistent positions on Iraq. ``Desperate candidates are generally not the most accurate sources of information on these issues,'' said New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, adding that the Senate defense spending committee that he serves on hasn't been notified of any such plans. But Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., ranking member on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and a former Marine who served in Vietnam, said he had learned through conversations with Pentagon officials that beginning in November, ``the Bush administration plans to call up large numbers of the military Guard and Reserves, to include plans that they previously had put off to call up the Individual Ready Reserve.''
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20040918%2F0623660856.htm&sc=1131&photoid=20040917DXF101&floc=NW_1-T
Polls: Why the confusing numbers. One explanation is that some polls have been asking more Republicans than Democrats. Gallup/CNN/USA Today seems the most guilty of this. The basic news: Bush up 2- 4 points, with notable gains in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and New Hampshire. As of now, he’d have a clear, though close electoral win.
Zogby: Bush 46-43%
Pew: Dead heat
State polls:
Missouri: Bush 48%, Kerry 41% (Mason-Dixon)
Arizona: Bush 50%, Kerry 39% (Mason-Dixon)
New Hampshire: Bush 49%, Kerry 40% (Mason-Dixon)
Ohio: Bush 49%, Kerry 40% (Mason-Dixon)
West Virginia: Bush 45%, Kerry 44% (Mason-Dixon)
Nevada: Bush 50%, 45% (Mason-Dixon)
Tennessee: Bush 53%, Kerry 37% (Mason-Dixon)
Kentucky: Bush 53%, Kerry 38% (Bluegrass Poll)
-R
They’re Helping Sadr:
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld have raised sharp complaints in recent days that Iran is providing support for the insurgency in Iraq, expressing concerns over what they say are Iran's attempt to shape Iraq's future.
Pentagon, State Department and military officials, describing intelligence reports that are fueling those concerns, say money, weapons and even a small number of fighters are flowing over the border from Iran to assist Shiite insurgents commanded by Moktada al-Sadr, a rebel cleric. But there is no consensus on the exact scale of Iranian activities. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/politics/20iran.html?pagewanted=all
War Games show that fighting Iran is no picnic:
…spy agencies have played out "war games" to consider possible pre-emptive strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and concluded that strikes would not resolve Washington's standoff with Tehran, Newsweek magazine reported Sunday.
"The war games were unsuccessful at preventing the conflict from escalating," an unnamed Air Force source told the magazine in its latest issue.
The Central Intelligence and the Defense Intelligence Agency played out the possible results US strikes, the magazine reported. http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040919183609.4c1exyea.html
They’re moving ahead on developing a nuclear capacity
Iran on Sunday rejected a call by the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency to freeze all its uranium enrichment programs and warned that it would drop out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if its case was sent to the Security Council.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, said at a news conference that his nation would not accept any outside limitation on its uranium enrichment programs and that "no international body can force Iran to do so." http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/international/middleeast/20tehran.html?pagewanted=all
October Surprise: Iran or Iraq or?Bush may not need it, but speculation continues as to whether finding bin Laden, staging a crisis with Iran- such as setting a deadline for compliance with UN-based demands re nuclear development being October 30 or something in Iraq (though that’s beyond our control). More likely is what is being announced, both a step-up in intelligence here and (possibly) fighting there so as to assure the public that much is being done with the deteriorating situation
A U.S. official expressed alarm yesterday about a possible nuclear- weapons-related test site in Iran and accused the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency of keeping silent on its own concerns about the issue.The official's comments came as U.S. and European diplomats tentatively agreed yesterday to demand a new Iranian freeze on uranium enrichment as they fine-tuned a draft resolution meant to deprive Iran of technology that could be used to make nuclear weapons. The negotiations involved a resolution being prepared for the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. www.newsday.com
That other investigation: Niger documents: Nothing Doin’
Forgot that one? It’s been a while. Josh Marshall warns us to expect zip, as there is no investigation.
The truth, though, the dirty little secret, is that there’s never been any real investigation into where those documents came from. Don't look for status updates on it because it doesn't exist.
Yes, back in March 2003, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), vice-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence asked the FBI to investigate the matter. And it was on the basis of this supposed investigation that the Committee decided not to investigate anything about the forged documents before they showed up at the US Embassy in Rome in October 2002. (See page 57 of the Committee report.) But again, despite claims to the contrary, the FBI hasn’t made any serious effort to find out who was behind the scam. www.talkingpointsmemor.org
CNN: al-Qaeda Seeks Bush Defeat
A pattern. CNN -Bill Schneider this time- repeats the Bush line. They are approaching Fox status.
Well I can guarantee that they don't like George Bush. Do they think there's a difference? I think Osama bin laden - the al qaeda network - who I'm certain follow american politics. Look at the messages coming out on their tapes, they seem to follow politics very closely. They would very much like to defeat President Bush. But the question is could they pull of the same trick they could pull off in Spain? What Dennis Hastert says is they'd better not try that, it won't work here. My guess is he's right about that." http://atrios.blogspot.com/
Sounds a lot like the Administration or its supporters: (AP)
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage alleged Friday that insurgents have stepped up their deadly assaults in Iraq because they want to "influence the election against President Bush," a statement that drew a sharp condemnation from the campaign of Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry.It is apparently the first time that a Bush administration official has linked the escalating violence in Iraq to an effort by insurgents to help defeat Bush in November.
What’s Happening, Iraq:Brits Cutting Back:
The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next month despite the deteriorating security situation in much of the country, The Observer has learnt. The main British combat force in Iraq, about 5,000-strong, will be reduced by around a third by the end of October during a routine rotation of units. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1307980,00.html
What’s Happening, Pakistan: Fighting
In the hidden ravines and forbidding, dust-colored mountains of a remote border region near Afghanistan, about 25,000 Pakistani troops are battling hundreds of well-armed foreign militants and Pakistani tribesmen in an increasingly violent confrontation that is imposing growing costs on civilians and prompting warnings of wider unrest. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34160-2004Sep19.html
Vanishing Middle Class. More confirmation. No, not the upper middle class…yet…
The jobs have had one thing in common: For people with a high school diploma and perhaps a bit of college, they can be a ticket to a modest home, health insurance, decent retirement and maybe some savings for the kids' tuition. Such jobs were a big reason America's middle class flourished in the second half of the 20th century.
Now what those jobs share is vulnerability. The people who fill them have become replaceable by machines, workers overseas or temporary employees at home who lack benefits. And when they are replaced, many don't know where to turn. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34235-2004Sep19.html
Bush, post November 2: If he wins…
Troops
``He won't tell us what congressional leaders are now saying, that this administration is planning yet another substantial call-up of reservists and Guard units immediately after the election,'' Kerry said. ``Hide it from people through the election, then make the move.'' Republicans said Kerry was making a baseless charge to cover up his inconsistent positions on Iraq. ``Desperate candidates are generally not the most accurate sources of information on these issues,'' said New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, adding that the Senate defense spending committee that he serves on hasn't been notified of any such plans. But Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., ranking member on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and a former Marine who served in Vietnam, said he had learned through conversations with Pentagon officials that beginning in November, ``the Bush administration plans to call up large numbers of the military Guard and Reserves, to include plans that they previously had put off to call up the Individual Ready Reserve.''
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20040918%2F0623660856.htm&sc=1131&photoid=20040917DXF101&floc=NW_1-T
Polls: Why the confusing numbers. One explanation is that some polls have been asking more Republicans than Democrats. Gallup/CNN/USA Today seems the most guilty of this. The basic news: Bush up 2- 4 points, with notable gains in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and New Hampshire. As of now, he’d have a clear, though close electoral win.
Zogby: Bush 46-43%
Pew: Dead heat
State polls:
Missouri: Bush 48%, Kerry 41% (Mason-Dixon)
Arizona: Bush 50%, Kerry 39% (Mason-Dixon)
New Hampshire: Bush 49%, Kerry 40% (Mason-Dixon)
Ohio: Bush 49%, Kerry 40% (Mason-Dixon)
West Virginia: Bush 45%, Kerry 44% (Mason-Dixon)
Nevada: Bush 50%, 45% (Mason-Dixon)
Tennessee: Bush 53%, Kerry 37% (Mason-Dixon)
Kentucky: Bush 53%, Kerry 38% (Bluegrass Poll)
-R
